JOHN GOSDEN will closely monitor conditions at Deauville after heavy rainfall overnight on Thursday raised concerns before Kingman’s bid for the Prix Jacques le Marois on Sunday.

Gosden, who was on course for Western Hymn’s bid to land Friday’s Prix Guillaume d’Ornano, walked up the entire length of the straight in advance of the opening mile handicap on the card at the Normandy track.

The course absorbed 21mm of rain from Thursday into Friday and is officially described as holding by clerk of the course Olivier Louit.

“It’s a case of monitoring it day by day,” said Gosden. “I’ll fly back [to Newmarket] tonight as I’ve got horses to work in the morning for York. I’ll be back again tomorrow when I’ll probably have a good walk of the track again and then I’ll be here overnight and walk it again Sunday.”

Gosden praised the efforts of the groundstaff but said the forecast rain for Sunday could force a late decision.

He added: “We’ve just got to discuss it with the owner [Khalid Abdullah] and racing manager [Teddy Grimthorpe] but at the moment we’ve got that slightly soft holding ground.

“We’ll monitor it day by day but they’ve done their best and they have the track in good condition – just see how many men they have down the track treading in right back to the mile start. It’s just a case of watching the rainfall scenario.”

Triple Group 1-winner Kingman, one of the stars of the summer, faces five rivals in Sunday’s race, which he is odds-on favourite for.

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